A Genetic History of the Near East from an aDNA Time Course Sampling Eight Points in the Past 4,000 Years

Abstract

The Iron and Classical Ages in the Near East were marked by population expansions carrying cultural transformations that shaped human history, but the genetic impact of these events on the people who lived through them is little-known. Here, we sequenced the whole genomes of 19 individuals who each lived during one of four time periods between 800 BCE and 200 CE in Beirut on the Eastern Mediterranean coast at the center of the ancient world’s great civilizations. We combined these data with published data to traverse eight archaeological periods and observed any genetic changes as they arose. During the Iron Age (∼1000 BCE), people with Anatolian and South-East European ancestry admixed with people in the Near East. The region was then conquered by the Persians (539 BCE), who facilitated movement exemplified in Beirut by an ancient family with Egyptian-Lebanese admixed members. But the genetic impact at a population level does not appear until the time of Alexander the Great (beginning 330 BCE), when a fusion of Asian and Near Easterner ancestry can be seen, paralleling the cultural fusion that appears in the archaeological records from this period. The Romans then conquered the region (31 BCE) but had little genetic impact over their 600 years of rule. Finally, during the Ottoman rule (beginning 1516 CE), Caucasus-related ancestry penetrated the Near East. Thus, in the past 4,000 years, three limited admixture events detectably impacted the population, complementing the historical records of this culturally complex region dominated by the elite with genetic insights from the general population.

Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh) during the 2nd millennium BC: integration of isotopic and genomic evidence

“…This example highlights how the vagaries of discovery and issues of representativeness influence mobility studies, and it is important to keep in mind that only a small portion of the total number of ancient inhabitants of the city has been recovered to date and is available for sampling. Nevertheless, this study has revealed multiple scales and levels of mobility at Alalakh in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, and shows, as have other recent studies in the ancient Near East [139,141,215], that the majority of sampled individuals were locals who likely lived, died, and were buried in close proximity to the place where they were born. This has important implications for understanding individual mobility in the Near Eastern Bronze Age: while such mobility is documented at relatively high levels both textually and archaeologically, it seems that -within the range and limitations the methods discussed here…”

Bioarchaeological analysis of one of the earliest Islamic burials in the Levant

“…The Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula are pivotal regions in the timeline of human history and an increasing number of aDNA studies have attempted to understand the genetic history in these regions. Although there have been successful studies 1,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] , given the poor conditions for DNA preservation, this process is proving to be slower than in more environmentally favourable regions of the world. Nonetheless, given the historical importance of this region, each newly recovered DNA sequence adds an important piece to the genomic and cultural puzzle of this territory.…”

“…In the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, the proportion of African ancestry increases. Different archaeogenetic studies have highlighted the complex demographic changes that have shaped genomic ancestry in the Levant 1,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] .The majority of prehistoric and historic genomes sequenced so far follow a similar pattern, but several studies have also found single individuals deviating from this pattern 6,8,11 . Such finds suggest additional small-scale migrations and the presence of structure within the region that is not displayed in the majority of the past society.…”

“…In the later Chalcolithic period, evidence of distinctive cultural practices and associated population movements highlight the dynamic history of the region, especially in the Southern Levant 7,8 . Further, genomic studies from the Bronze to Iron Ages in the Levant also report admixture and population movements, and suggest some degree of continuity with modern populations 6,[9][10][11] . On an even more recent timescale, studies from the medieval period 6,11 and modern populations 13,14 describe genetic structure and the role played by culture and religion in the formation of these structures.…”

“…Further, genomic studies from the Bronze to Iron Ages in the Levant also report admixture and population movements, and suggest some degree of continuity with modern populations 6,[9][10][11] . On an even more recent timescale, studies from the medieval period 6,11 and modern populations 13,14 describe genetic structure and the role played by culture and religion in the formation of these structures. Notably, a study on medieval individuals from Lebanon previously identified as Crusaders 12 demonstrated their ancestry to be both European or local as well as an admixture of Europeans and Near-Easterners.…”